This invention relates generally to the field of cashing negotiable instruments, such as checks. More particularly, the invention relates to the cashing of negotiable instruments at automated teller machines (ATMs) or similar machines which dispense cash.
ATMs were introduced, in part, to dispense cash to bank customers, thus providing convenient locations for performing limited banking functions. Over time, these functions have increased. For example, some ATMs now offer check cashing features where a user can insert a check into the ATM and receive cash back for the face amount of the check.
One drawback with such ATMs is that they must be capable of holding coins. This is because many checks are written to include both dollars and cents, and to properly cash the check, the ATM must be capable of dispensing both bills and coins. As such, many ATMs are unsuitable for being used to cash checks. Further, even with ATMs which dispense coins, a problem occurs when such ATMs run out of coins or certain bills, thus being unable to dispense the face amount of the check in cash. In such cases, the ATM check cashing feature will need to be disabled.